Hooray!! I’m back on line. We left Charleston, SC on Saturday morning, November 20th at 6:45am, and headed out to the open ocean on the outgoing tide. Twenty-nine hours later we entered the harbor at Fernandina Beach, FL, and it was so warm, I traded my jeans for my shorts, right after we tied to the mooring ball.

This was my first time being offshore in the USA, however, we did sail on the ocean down in the British Virgin Islands, but never on an overnight passage. I was a little anxious, since I wasn’t sure how my stomach would do, or how I would handle my four hour watch alone from midnight to four am. I needn’t have worried, I came through it all just fine, including having chili for dinner.

The entire trip we had no wind - nada, zip, zero! But, since there was no wind, we also had no waves, just the ocean swell, which was considerable. We rocked and rolled the entire trip! Twenty-five degrees to one side, then twenty-five degrees to the other side. All day and all night! It made cooking dinner rather interesting, but I was determined to have a hot meal. Thank goodness for the gimbaled stove. The chili on Fritos was delicious!!!

After dark, it wasn’t too cold out, as long as you were wearing a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, and a raincoat over that. Then later, when the dew set in, you needed rain pants, too. About 8:00 pm, I decided I should try to get a little sleep before my watch, so I went down below and climbed into my nice warm bed. Dave was listening to the Stanford vs. California football game on the satellite radio, and since we have speakers in the aft stateroom, I tried to sleep with the game blaring in my ears. Where were my ear plugs??? I finally got up and put on my headphones, but that only muted it a little bit. I was thankful when at halftime, we lost the broadcast. All the while I had to combat the rolling of the boat. First all of my innards would slide all the way up towards my head, and then they would slide down to my feet, and then back again the other way. I think, of the 4 hours, I probably slept about 2.

Right at midnight, Dave slid the hatch open and woke me up for my turn at watch. I once again donned all of my clothes, including a watch cap and my PFD (personal flotation device), and a pair of gloves. I also raided the galley and found a bottle of water and a bag of cinnamon and sugar pita chips, for my midnight snack. Now I was ready to brave the elements. Out of the goodness of his heart, or for his own peace of mind, Dave decided to sleep in the cockpit, in case I had any problems. Thankfully, he is able to sleep just about anywhere, at any time.

While out on the ocean, we use an auto pilot program that steers the boat and keeps it on a set compass course. During the dark hours, you can’t see where the boat is going, so you rely on your radar to tell you if there are obstacles in your way, and you must also do a visual check every so often to see what lights you can see on the horizon. We set a timer for 20 minutes, and when it goes off, you carefully peer around the dodger and carefully scan the horizon. We also take an hourly chart position and enter it in the log book. You also need to be watching the chart on the GPS for marked buoys (you don’t want to run into them!), and the radar screen for blips indicating other boats, buoys, or land. Once you get into a rhythm of doing all of this, it is rather easy, and the radar is very reassuring. It is a wonderful feeling to have a blank radar screen all around you!

The time passed very quickly, although I wasn’t doing anything, just thinking, and watching the water in the moonlight. It was a beautiful full moon, and a nearly cloudless sky. The moon was so bright that we could only see the usual amount of stars. I really wanted to see dolphins, but never spotted any that night.

Around 3:30 am I looked at the chart and saw that our projected course took us straight over land!! Not good!!! I woke Dave up, so he could help me change course. Thank goodness for the GPS. At the time the land mass showed up on the screen, we were already in 9 feet of water, but since the water in this ocean is so shallow anyway, I don’t think we were in any imminent danger, but would have been if I had been asleep at the helm. I actually was quite alert during my watch and even let Dave sleep an extra hour, since I had had to wake him, then went back down to my bed at 5am, and after peeling off all of my layers, snuggled back in for a few more hours of sleep.

I awoke to beautiful sunshine! As each hour passed, it got warmer and warmer, and we started peeling off layers. We must be getting close to Florida!!! The auto pilot took us straight to the channel into Fernandina Beach, and as we made our way in, a huge freighter crept up behind us. We were startled when he called us on the radio and informed us of his intention to pass us. Seeing that big mass of steel pass us, I was glad that we only saw a few of them during the night, and they were all quite a distance from us. The biggest boats we saw close, were fishing trawlers.

So, now that we are safe in Fernandina Beach, let me tell you a little bit about our stay in Charleston. It started off not so good. We had planned to stay at a small, cheap marina in the Isle of Palms. When we arrived, it was very windy. The opening to the marina was very narrow and shallow. As we proceeded in, the waterway stayed very narrow, not leaving a lot of room for maneuvering. We were trying to call the marina, first by VHF and then by phone, to find out where they wanted us to dock. We could not get an answer!! So, we decided to tie up to the gas dock, but with the wind blowing, it was going to be tricky! A man came out on the dock to help us, or so we thought. As I got the boat close to the dock, Dave threw the man a line and told him to tie it to the cleat. He said, “Yeah, right!,” and threw the line back onto the boat. At this point, a gust of wind began blowing us down the dock and very close to some power boats that were docked on the end of the pier. Somehow, I managed to get us past them, and back into the channel. We would have to try it again, but now we were headed in the wrong direction. So, we decided to go all the way out, and come back in again. I was not a happy camper. It was difficult the first time and I was not happy to have to try it again. As we were leaving the marina entrance, I got a little too far to one side and the boat went aground! Now I was really not a happy camper!! I threw the boat into reverse and managed to get us back in deeper water, and out into the canal where we could turn around and go back in. On the way back in, we spotted a section of dock that we thought we could temporarily tie to, and attempted to do so. Between the wind, the angle, and the length of the dock, I just couldn’t make it happen, and I lost my cool!! I managed to get the boat turned around again, and headed back out of the marina!! After a few minutes time out, we decided that we would go on into Charleston and try to find space in a marina there, where we would hopefully have some help in docking. Dave got on the radio and found space for us at a marina on Patriot Point, just east of downtown Charleston. I was so shook up after our fiasco, I let him steer to the marina, then took over again when we got there. Although the wind was still blowing and the current was ripping, I got the boat safely docked with no trouble at all. That was a big confidence booster! And, this place was beautiful!! We walked up the long dock to the Marina office to check in, then went up to check out the resort it is attached to. There is a four story hotel with a swimming pool, a hot tub, a sandy beach with a volleyball net and lounge chairs, fire pits, and, a very inviting bar! After the morning I’d had, I needed a drink! As beautiful as it was, I knew it would be expensive, but it would make a great home for the next couple of weeks.

Before arriving there, we had decided that our present dodger (canvas over the cockpit) would not make it through the harsh winter sun in the Bahamas, so we opted to have a new one made. We researched and contacted a company in Charleston, and they came down to take a look at what we would need, the day after we arrived. They said they would have it done by the 18th of November. A little longer than we had hoped for, and a little more expensive, but what the heck! It turned out to be a great decision.

We spent the next two and a half weeks working on boat projects and playing tourist. We were able to get a great price on a rental car from Enterprise, so we were able to visit some places that were at a distance. We took one beautiful Sunday and drove up to Columbia, SC, where we hoped to see some fall colors. It was a really nice drive, but not too colorful. We did see the University of South Carolina, or USC, as is locally called. Boy, was that ever confusing. They kept talking about USC on the news, and we would automatically think of the other USC. The one in southern California! Anyway, the campus is right in the middle of this capital city, so we saw it, as well as the state house for the government. After the last election, SC now has its first woman governor! And the first of East Indian descent.

We took a day off from boat chores and went into downtown Charleston, where we took a carriage ride around the city. Our horse was an older male named “Bob”. He loved his job, and did very well. He did get spooked if he had to pass any construction areas that were covered with netting, or had to go by those big “cherry pickers” parked on the sides of the road. We saw some beautiful old antebellum homes and old cobblestone streets.

We also spent some time walking in the old slave market area, and sampling praline candy and fudge in some of the shops. Oddly enough, we also drove to the West Marine stores on the opposite side of the city for boat parts. One foray found us hunting for the Citadel Mall where we did some window shopping and had dinner before heading back to the boat.

Another day we traveled to the city aquarium, where they have one of the only albino alligators in captivity. Now that is a really strange sight! He doesn’t look real! They had the usual aquarium displays, and in addition, they had a 4-D movie. It was one of the Planet Earth series, ”the Ocean Deep”. It was amazing how many times they showed whales or dolphins spouting, so they could spray water on you. It was a lot of fun though!

We also drove out to the Boone Hall Plantation where they were having a Civil War Re-enactment of the Battle of Secessionville. What a hoot! There were probably a thousand re-enactors there in period dress. We got to see the inside of the plantation house and they have about 10 slave quarter homes still standing. There was also a presentation made by a woman whose ancestors had been slaves on the plantation. She explained how the slaves came to be there, and the traditions they followed. Very interesting! We also visited the dock house down by the river, where the ladies were having tea and a display of the quilts they had made. On our way back up to the main event area, we met up with General Robert E. Lee. Looked pretty good for a man that old!

We had lunch sold from a tent, where they cooked Indian Tacos, just like the ones my Aunt Toby used to make. They were delicious! After lunch, it was time for the big battle. We even had a regiment of very young soldiers, on the sidelines, fighting with their stick muskets, with a captain in command. They were soooo cute. True to the day, the Yankees outnumbered the Rebels, yet the south won the battle! The old muskets they used were noisy enough, but when they fired those cannons, it really got your attention! And your ears!!!

It was a really enjoyable day. We loved looking at all the campers in their old canvas tents and cooking over the fire pit in cast iron pots and pans. They really know how to rough it!! Made our boat seem quite comfortable by comparison.

Because we were in a big city, we also were able to watch some Husky games. There was a pretty nice sports pub, only a few blocks away, and we watched the last game against California, in the bar at Sticky Fingers, a fantastic barbecue restaurant. The food was great, and the game even better!

The marina is a home to a whole pod of dolphins. They were great entertainment for us. The water is so clear that we could see them swimming and chasing the small fish they wanted for lunch. We would stand on the dock and watch them, just under the surface of the water.

So, all in all, we had a great time in Charleston. However, I think both Dave and I were anxious to get under way again and head for Florida. The Bahamas beckon!!! We plan to stay here in Fernandina for another night, and then head in to Jacksonville for a stay at the city marina. According to some friends here, the city has some great Thanksgiving events going on down at the waterfront, and they have asked us to join them at the dock. Sounds like too much fun to pass up.

Sorry it was so long since my last blog entry. While in Charleston I had to take my computer in to Staples for a clean-up. It was taking way too long to boot up.

Thanks to Angie, Mary, Nancy, and family for your messages. It was wonderful to hear from you. We even got snail mail from home. Even junk mail can be fun, when you don’t get it all the time!

We hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the time with friends and family. I know we will be missing our own, but we will be with new friends this year. Stay happy and healthy!

Love & Hugs,

The Admiral